My last chart mapped out the Wyckoff structures, but left out the UTAD: upthrust after distribution, assuming that the LPSY dumping was already in progress. As it so happens, the selling I prematurely thought was the end of the TR -- was in fact whales testing distribution, but followed by the UTAD (a driven move hitting stops and forcing a vertical move to $9200). The Up Thrust After Distribution is explained here:
"This is a test of the remaining demand. It is also a bull trap—it appears to signal the resumption of the uptrend but in reality is intended to “wrong-foot” uninformed break-out traders. A UT or UTAD allows large interests to mislead the public about the future trend direction and, subsequently, sell additional shares at elevated prices to such break-out traders and investors before the markdown begins. In addition, a UTAD may induce smaller traders in short positions to cover and surrender their shares to the larger interests who have engineered this move."
Ironically, in my previous charts, I actually projected this very rise to $9200 before heading back down to the low range. I even expected to TP at 9200, because the retrace fibs of the last drop were perfectly positioned there. But in my blindness to Wyckoff, I didn't realize I was forecasting the UTAD itself. I got bear goggles, spooked by the first dump, but thanks to sufficient margin, wasn't at risk of getting liquidated. So I will miss the $200 ride up and back down, but this development only confirms the original Wyckoff Top distribution scenario more surely. The resolution simply gets delayed a bit.
A few new things have caught my attention since rushing out the last chart. This new correction pitchfork, a favorite of mine when charting bear seasons after a bubble peak -- actually fits this price action perfectly, to the very point of our $9200 UTAD peak smack on the intersection with the rising channel top! Also, I reframed my white rising channel to better fit the controlled edge touches (not the selloff overshoot). And a new alignment appears with the CME futures opening at 5pm Sunday evening CST --- the futures closed at $8840, and I believe spot price is going to drift right down to meet it. First - because our bearish Gartley is supposed to resolve down. Second, because the UTAD is a temporary high structure in Wyckoff, and resolves back down to the Trading Range. Those should all converge at about the right time and price expected.
Now the resolution: lots of bull hopes are inflated by this recent pump to 9500, and they're strongly expecting a breakout to 10K and beyond. If this whole sideways range **does not dump at the LPSY areas** but instead just keeps climbing, then the whales really are taking us to the moon before halving, damn the distribution.
If we have a proper LPSY and SOW selloff -- but the drop stops at 8520, refusing to breakdown the rising bull trendline floor we've been riding above for weeks, then the Wyckoff was valid, distribution whales get to take their profits, but bull sentiment is just too damn strong to stop the market from continuing to go up on the sideways.
If we break down the intersection of the pitchfork median AND the rising bull floor, then it's dumpsville. All the way to TP2 and TP3, bottom of the bear fork but no lower than $8000 probably. Any rebound from such a dive will be weak, because we will have retraced to the 0.845 fib, almost the entire pump rally!
Decision Point - $8840
TP1 - $8520
TP2 - $8260
TP3 - $8020